SBR.tv's Peter Loshak sat down for a quick chat with the line manager at Bookmaker.com to discuss action so far as we head towards Super Bowl Sunday.
A week out from Super Bowl Sunday, SBR’s Peter Loshak chatted with the head line manager at BookMaker to get a little behind-the-scenes look into how things are shaping up betting-wise for Super Bowl XLIV at BookMaker, one of the leading online sportsbooks in the world.
Loshak: Thanks for talking with me today. First let’s talk about line movement. Almost all books don’t think about releasing Super Bowl lines until the market has settled into a relatively stable number, but of course you guys do openers. Everyone saw that the spread moved a lot very quickly in favor of the Colts. You opened at Colts -3, and were up to -5½ within 20 minutes. So, I assume you were getting hit hard with big bets on Indy at that point?
BookMaker: Oh yeah, a lot of early hits came in right away on the Colts.
Loshak: So how much does it take to move the line at that point? How big were those bets you were getting hit with?
BookMaker: They were all ranging from $10,000 to 20,000, up to $50,000.
Loshak: Ok. And now that the lines have settled, do you move your moneyline and spread separately? Or do you move them both if you get a meaningful bet on either?
BookMaker: It really depends. For example if we get hit on the side, yes we’ll move the moneyline. But, the moneyline can act independently as well.
Loshak: Right, because I notice currently the spread is 5½, but the Colts’ moneyline is -215. That’s a bit lower than what you normally see associated with 5½.
BookMaker: Yeah, but if you go back in history though it’s normal for a Super Bowl.
Loshak: It’s normal for a Super Bowl but not for a regular season game?
BookMaker: Exactly.
Loshak: Right, right, because the public tends to like to bet the dog on the moneyline but the fave on the spread. So just how big is Super Bowl Sunday to you guys. How much action do you take on the Super Bowl for instance, compared to an average NFL Sunday during the regular season?
BookMaker: Well overall, a bit less on the Super Bowl. All the games on a Sunday card do add up, and then you also have halftimes on all of them, so yeah we would take more action overall on an average NFL Sunday than we’ll probably have on Super Bowl Sunday.
Loshak: Ok, and how much of your Super Bowl action is on props? I’ve heard the number is about a third, a third of all the money bet on the Super Bowl is bet on props.
BookMaker: Oh I’d doubt that for us.
Loshak: Really? Why’s that? Do you think you don’t focus on props as much as some other places?
BookMaker: Well, to put it in perspective, our limit on props is $2,000. You can ask for more, but we’ll guarantee $2,000. Yes there’s a lot of props, but by the same token we wrote a half million dollar bet on a side the other day.
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Loshak: Right, right.
BookMaker: So that’s a lot of props.
Loshak: Haha, yeah. So what’s the limit for the sides?
BookMaker: We guarantee $100,000.
Loshak: But you’ll take more. What’s the biggest bet you’ve taken so far?
BookMaker: $500,000, on New Orleans.
Loshak: Wow, half a mil on the Saints. So what’s been the split on the action so far? What’s the split been between the two teams and between the public and sharps?
BookMaker: It’s about 2-to-1 with both number of bets and money, in favor of Indianapolis.
Loshak: So that’s the public favoring the Colts? Who have the sharps been betting so far?
BookMaker: Well, early it was the Colts, but until game day you really don’t know.
Loshak: So how’s the overall volume been? I’ve been reading that some are expecting one of the highest volume numbers ever, possibly a record for handle, at least in Vegas, because of Manning and because of the sentimental feelings towards New Orleans. But then I did also read where Jay Kornegay of the Vegas Hilton said he doesn’t think the two teams have a big enough fan base to break a record for volume, and he’s actually expecting only a small increase over last year, which was notably low. So how’s your volume looking this year and what do you expect?
BookMaker: I would say it’s gonna be bigger, for sure. They’re two very good teams, and popular with bettors. We’ve got big volume right now. I don’t know about Vegas or anyone else, but I think it’s gonna set a record for us.
Loshak: Ok great, well thanks for taking the time to talk to me.